SOCIAL

California anti-trans referendum may not qualify for ballot

Opponents of a California law which grants trans students certain rights may not have the required support to put the issue before voters.

A coalition of anti-trans conservative groups, calling themselves Privacy for all Students, claimed to have submitted 613,120 signatures to get their initiative placed on the November 2014 ballot.

However, early results of a random sampling of the petition has found that only 76.16% of the signatures are valid.

To qualify for the ballot, the statewide total needs to be more than 95% of the required signatures from a random sample of 3% or 500 signatures. This means that if the trend continues, the anti-trans referendum will not be voted on by the public.

The pro-trans bill, known as AB1266, grants transgender students the rights to use facilities corresponding to their gender.

It was signed into law by California governor Jerry Brown in September, and takes effect from 01 January 2014.

The bill has been attacked by conservative groups, claiming it will ‘confuse’ students and allow some to pose as trans so they can access female changing rooms.

Opponents also include the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, who successfully fought for Proposition 8 in California which outlawed same-sex marriage in 2008.